AMD's Strix Halo CPUs may bring additional L3 cache through 3D V-Cache technology as spotted in the die design.
Apart from A Newer Interconnect Design, AMD's Strix Halo May Bring Additional L3 Cache Via 3D V-Cache Technology
The AMD Strix Halo reviews are officially out, and once again, AMD is taking a huge lead over Intel in terms of iGPU performance. While Intel is definitely doing pretty well with lineups like Arrow Lake-H and Lunar Lake, AMD's Strix Halo sets a new benchmark that is hard to beat.
That said, despite being already very good at general computing and gaming, AMD may not stop here. The current Strix Halo die design (via ASUS China) has some hints that pave the path for significant performance improvement in the near future. As confirmed by ASUS's General Manager of China, Tony, the Strix Halo has TSVs (Through-Silicon Vias), as can be seen from the die design.
The TSVs enable AMD to add a 3D V-Cache chiplet right on top of the L3 cache between the Zen 5 cores. This adds additional L3 cache memory, enhancing the performance of the CPU significantly in select workloads. This essentially opens up the door to Strix Halo X3D processors in the near future, which we previously indicated as well.
Apart from TSVs, the Strix Halo die also has a new interconnect that takes less space than the interconnect system on the desktop Zen 5 Ryzen 9000 CPUs. As you can see from the Ryzen 9 9950X die, the chip uses the traditional SERDES (Serializer/Deserializer) for data transfer between the chiplets.
As explained by Tony, the new interconnect design reduces the overall footprint by 42.3%, which is drastic, and hence, the chiplet is now 0.34mm smaller on the Strix Halo CPUs. This interconnect is essentially a 'sea of wires' that not only reduces the size of the CCD but also enhances the latency and reduces power consumption.
This establishes a good foundation for Zen 6, but seeing it already on Strix Halo makes things exciting, and we will definitely love to see what X3D can do to it. Strix Halo chips like Ryzen AI Max+ 395 are already powerful enough for crunching numbers and executing intensive workloads, but its Radeon 8060S is exceptional. It is already competing with the GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPU, enabling Strix Halo laptops to play games on ultra settings without needing a discrete GPU.
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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